Graduate Study in Applied Social & Community Psychology
Program and Philosophy
The Applied Social and Community area of the graduate program provides training in a creative mix of research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, and theories of the person-in-context. The area shares a commitment to research that makes a difference in the world and that situates findings in the context of lived experience. Students work together in teams with community partners and collaborators, with many projects focused on perspectives of marginalized groups. This research examines individuals in their varied social and cultural contexts and settings (i.e., dyads and social groups, organizations, communities, and institutions including their historical practices and current social or legal policies). Such psychological phenomena span multiple levels of analysis and thus require the use of methodologies appropriate to such challenges (e.g., HLM of within and between person changes over time and of individuals embedded in groups, intervention programs or other settings; qualitative analysis of individual and community narratives). Given the complex nature of social problems faced by individuals and groups, we are interested in theories and methods that span disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches. Concerned with the dynamic interplay between theory and practice, we draw on traditions from early social psychology as well as on more recent elaborations of foundational work in community psychology. Through close or collaborative work with diverse community partners, we also engage critical ethical questions about the values and praxis of social science research and intervention.
Research and Field Activities
Faculty in the Applied Social and Community area carry out scholarship focused on understanding and addressing pressing social issues. Using ecologically valid methods, faculty members study the psychosocial constructions of gender, violence, disability, and life experiences and their relationships to health. Recent projects include using Participatory Action Research to examine youth engaged in dialogue through hip-hop culture, the process of entering the Oregon State Hospital through the insanity plea, the connections between online communities, minority identity, social support, and well-being, and the relationship between accessibility and participation for persons with disabilities. Other projects, conducted in collaboration with local and national organizations include developing sex abuse prevention programs, the influences of negative emotional experiences on alcohol consumption, and an experimental program evaluation of a strength-based intervention program for male youth in schools, community centers and juvenile justice facilities. These projects -- which span from the local to international -- are done in collaboration with interdisciplinary faculty, graduate students, and community partners and pull from diverse methods including surveys, observations, interviews, focus groups, and daily process methods. The products of faculty scholarship aim to advance theory, knowledge, and the translation of knowledge to inform positive social change and include books, peer-reviewed publications, reports and briefs, documentaries, workshops, presentations and town halls.
Curriculum
Our curriculum was developed to provide students with strong theoretical and methodological perspectives. In particular, the purpose of our substantive courses is to examine contemporary social issues, as they occur in their varied social contexts, while considering the appropriateness and relevance of social and community psychological theory. Our courses are intended to expose students to a particular type of inquiry, rather than provide a comprehensive review of the fields. We consider theoretical approaches from a multilevel perspective, incorporating theory related to self (Intrapersonal), interpersonal relationships, intergroup relationships and phenomena, and community-level phenomena. We simultaneously highlight successful examples of applied psychology in health, environment, and intervention areas, to name a few. Integrative to our coursework is an appreciation of diversity.
Current Substantive Courses Include (Core and Elective courses):
- Advanced Applied Social & Community Psychology
- Adult Socialization
- Social Psychology of Mental Health
- Community Psychology Capstone
- Gender and Madness
- Group Process
- Social Action Research
From a methodological standpoint, our aim as an area is to complement the required quantitative methods sequence that our first year graduate students take. Our specific focus is on working with students to cultivate a broad range of methodological tools upon which to draw in their community-based work.
Current Methodological Courses Include:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Program Evaluation
- Survey Methods
- Clinical Interviewing
- Social Action Research
Please note that we do not offer graduate specialization in clinical or counseling psychology.
Practica and Internships
Applied Psychology graduate students complete a practicum and an internship as part of their course of study. Both offer an opportunity for graduate students to tailor their training to particular areas of interest and to enhance their skills and expertise. The practicum reflects a four credit experience that may be satisfied by either completing a research apprenticeship with a Psychology Departmental faculty member or by working with a local community agency. In the case of practicum experiences in community agencies, students benefit from supervision provided by both a PSU faculty member and an agency supervisor. Internships are taken later in the program, following the completion of formal coursework and the granting of the student's Masters degree. Internships reflect an eight credit experience in a field placement or as part of an off-campus research experience related to the student's areas of interest or program of study. Internships are designed to provide in-depth training and practical, "hands-on" opportunities.
Internship projects often involve work in core skills areas including: program conceptualization and development; research planning and implementation; and/or program evaluation. Our graduate students have worked with a broad array of local community partners including those in the areas of public health, health research, criminal justice, social welfare, rehabilitation, and disability services. For example, they have interned with the Oregon Department of Justice, the Oregon Health Sciences University's Center for Community Accessibility and School of Nursing, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, RMC Research, the Northwest Education Training and Assessment, Clackamas County Department of Juvenile Justice, the Center for Partnership Evaluation (University of Nevada, Reno), Psychologists for Social Responsibility (Washington, D.C.), the Arc of Multnomah/Clackamas Counties, L'Arche Nehalem, and Incight. Graduate students select internship settings as well as practicum sites in consultation with their advisor and in an effort to maximize professional development opportunities.
Student Job Placements
Students who earned their Master's or PhD in Applied Social or Community Psychology work in diverse settings as researchers, program evaluators, and faculty including: CareOregon, David Heil & Associates, Inc., Foundation for Accountability, George Fox College, Institute for Social Research (The University of Michigan) Kaiser Center for Health Research, Mountain Measurement, Inc., Multnomah County Health Department, National College of Naturopathic Medicine, NPC Research, Oregon City Public Schools, Oregon Department of Corrections, Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Oregon Health Division, Portland Community College, Portland State University, Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Cyprus, Walter Reed Medical Center, and Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
Area Faculty
Janice Haaken, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus
Kimberly Kahn, Ph.D.
Keith Kaufman, Ph.D.
Eric Mankowski, Ph.D.
Cynthia Mohr, Ph.D.
Related Department Faculty
AS&C Graduate Program FAQ
Events of Note
Lewis & Clark College hosts Pacific Northwest Community Psychology Conference, October 29th, 2011.pdf
PSU hosts Pacific Northwest Community Psychology Conference, October 15th, 2010
Graduate courses focusing on Applied Social & Community Psychology
PSY 514/614 Advanced Applied Social Psychology
PSY 537/637 Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology
PSY 510 Psychology of Men and Masculinities
PSY 510/610 Program Evaluation
PSY 510 Domestic Violence Intervention Systems
PSY 510 Ecological-Environmental Psychology
PSY 534 Introduction to Psychopathology
PSY 540 Group Process
PSY 571 Health Psychology
PSY 580/581/582 Community Psychology (3 course sequence)
PSY 597 Survey Research Methods
PSY 598 Field Observation Methods
PSY 532/632 Clinical Interviewing
PSY 533/633 Contemporary Social Psychology
PSY 564/664 Social Psychology of Mental Health
PSY 589/689 Adult Socialization
Web sites with more information about Applied Social & Community Psychology
Social Psychology Network
APA Division 8: Personality and Social Psychology
APA Division 9: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
APA Division 27: Society for Community Research and Action
APA Division 38: Health Psychology
APA Division 51: Society for the Study of Men and Masculinity
APA Division 45: Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues
American Psychological Society
International Association for Relationship Research
Profile
Meet Professor Janice Haaken »
Whether studying drag queens, false memories or the wearing of the hijab, Professor Haaken knows that there is often more than meets the eye.